Women's Basketball: TU Sets School Record In Win Over Valparaiso

Tulsa set a school record with 15 three-pointers, five players scored in double-digits and Ashley Clark had a double-double en route to an 87-63 win over Valparaiso on Saturday afternoon at the Athletics Recreation Center in Valparaiso, Ind. TU moved to 4-4 on the season, while the Crusaders fell to 3-5 overall.

“I am stunned about our three-point shooting,” Head Coach Matilda Mossman said. “We have a pretty happy locker room. Anytime you shoot the ball well, it makes the other parts of the game get better. We hit a couple three's early and that made the momentum go our way and from a lot of different players. I like to think our defense drives our offense, but today our offense drove our defense. Ashley Hughes made the best of her opportunity today as we had two point guards sitting on the bench. Kelsee also did a great job running the team today. She was confident in calling the plays and everyone played remarkably. We really played well together.”

Kadan Brady tallied a team-best 17 points, five assists and two steals, while Hughes came in off the bench and tallied a career-high 16 points. Antoinet Webster also posted a personal best with 15 points, Kelsee Grovey added 14 and Clark tallied 11 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds.

TU hit a school-best 15 three pointers, topping the old record of 11 made treys set three times against Boise State (2003), Nevada (2003) and Hawaii (2004). Every guard in the game had at least two baskets from behind the arch, including four from Hughes, three from Webster, and two each from Grovey, Clark, Brady and Holmes.

Tulsa had a 48-35 lead in rebounds, a 19-11 advantage in assists and a 9-5 lead in steals. TU shot 46-percent from the field, including 48-percent from three-point range, and 83-percent from the free throw line.

Valparaiso was led by four players in double figures, including a team-best 16 points by Jasmyn Walker. Haylee Thompson added 14 points, Dani Franklin tallied 12 and Lexi Miller scored 10. Walker also had a team-high nine rebounds, while Jessica Carr posted eight assists. The Crusaders shot 36-percent from the field, 20-percent from behind the arc and 57-percent from the charity stripe.

After taking a 12-point deficit into the break, Valpo fought their way back to cut Tulsa's lead to five, 48-43, with 12:58 on the clock, but the Hurricane went on a 13-4 run to take a 14-point advantage, 61-47, with 9:19 left in the contest. TU continued to inch ahead for a game-high 26-point lead with 46-seconds to play, but Walker hit a jumper nine seconds later for the final score.

Grovey, Webster and Clark all hit a three to start the scoring for TU, and then Brady tallied 12 of the next 14 points to put the Hurricane up 23-14 with 13:01 left in the half. Tulsa continued to inch ahead to a 14-point advantage with 3:10 on the clock (41-27), but Walker scored another basket for the Crusaders for the halftime score.

TU shot 50-percent from the field, including 50-percent from three-point range, and was 1-of-1 from the line in the first frame, while Valpo was 36-percent from the field, just 12-percent from behind the arc, and 66-percent from the charity stripe.

Tulsa will return to action on Sunday, Dec. 14 against Arkansas. Game time is set for 2:00 pm at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.